Patent Application
20240159505
The present disclosure relates generally to firearm cartridges. More particularly the present disclosure relates to a cartridge which is fireable in a first mode, but prevented from firing in a second mode when exposed to an electromagnetic, acoustic, or similar signal.
Firearms are ubiquitous in the United States of America. Indeed, the United States has enshrined the right of its citizens to own firearms in its founding documents. Within the last few decades however, there has been a shocking rise in so-called “mass shooting” events wherein a shooter opens fire in a crowded public space, most notably in schools. This has predictably sewn fear and consternation among the public, but the current laws provide limitations on the restrictions that can be placed on firearm ownership.
Some solutions such as metal detectors and increased police presence have been implemented to catch and/or deter would-be shooters. However, these solutions are costly, lower morale and are constant reminders of the danger of being in public spaces to the vast majority of attendees.
Therefore, what is needed is a firearm cartridge which can be disabled remotely, preventing firing of a weapon in a public setting.
The subject matter of this application may involve, in some cases, interrelated products, alternative solutions to a particular problem, and/or a plurality of different uses of a single system or article.
In one aspect, a firing primer for use in a firearm cartridge is provided. The primer is formed having a body and a rear wall, and a quantity of priming compound within the body. A signal receiver is also positioned within the body, typically, though not always, positioned adjacent to the rear wall of the primer. The signal receiver is operable to allow ignition of the quantity of priming compound when not in the presence of a predetermined signal, and operable to prevent ignition of the quantity of priming compound when in the presence of the predetermined signal. In this way, the ability of a firearms cartridge to fire a bullet may be controlled by the presence of the signal which can deactivate the primer and in turn the ability of the cartridge to fire the bullet. The signal thus creates a zone in which a firearm cannot be fired.
In another aspect, a firearm cartridge is provided. The cartridge has a cartridge case, a quantity of gunpowder within the cartridge case, a bullet at a proximal end of the cartridge case, and a primer. The primer is formed having a body and a rear wall, and a quantity of priming compound within the body. A signal receiver is also positioned within either the primer cap or within the cartridge case, typically, though not always, positioned adjacent to the rear wall of the primer. The signal receiver is operable to allow ignition of both the quantity of gunpowder and quantity of priming compound when not in the presence of a predetermined signal, and operable to prevent ignition of at least one of the quantity of gunpowder and the quantity of priming compound when in the presence of the predetermined signal.
In yet another aspect, a facility having restricted firearm usage is provided. The facility defines a facility area or “zone.” The facility has one or more signal transmitters which are configured to emit a signal covering at least part of the facility area and in many embodiments, the signal transmitter(s) are configured to emit a signal covering the entire area or zone of the facility. The signal transmitters are configured to emit a signal which is operable to deactivate a firearm cartridge of this disclosure, preventing its firing. Exemplary firearm cartridges which can be deactivated are disclosed in the above aspects and elsewhere throughout this disclosure.
The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of presently preferred embodiments of the invention and does not represent the only forms in which the present disclosure may be constructed and/or utilized. The description sets forth the functions and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the invention in connection with the illustrated embodiments.
While there are many laws on record in the United States protecting the ownership of firearms, including the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, the regulation of ammunition is more permissive and not protected by foundational legal documents. Therefore, the present invention is directed to a firearms cartridge which can be deactivated remotely under certain conditions and in certain locations, namely public settings where innocent people could be hurt.
Generally, the present disclosure concerns a firearms cartridge which is controllably fired such that, when a certain signal is present, for example in a school, the firearms cartridge cannot be fired, but when the signal is not present, such as when hunting in the woods, the firearms cartridge can be fired in the same way that a traditional firearms cartridge may operate. In certain embodiments, firing control components and structure may be incorporated into the primer cap of the cartridge. In other embodiments, firing control and structure may be within the firearm cartridge case. In still other embodiments, firing control and structure may be incorporated into both the primer cap and the cartridge case.
By creating an ammunition which allows deactivation of firing, the present disclosure creates a paradigm where “safe” locations can be created to stop a would-be mass shooter or otherwise control the unauthorized firing of a firearm. This can be deployed at fixed facilities such as schools, malls, theaters, stadiums and other places where large groups gather. Further, the system can be deployed at other large gatherings such as outdoor parades, rallies, political and social events, and the like but bringing a portable signal transmitter or transmitters and emitting the particular signal which will disable the ammunition by preventing firing.
In many embodiments, control of the firing of the firearms cartridge is implemented on the primer, which, when firing the bullet, initiates the first in a series of actions that results in firing. The primer referred to herein as the portion of the firearms cartridge which is struck or otherwise actuated by the firearm to eventually ignite the propellant which fires the bullet. Typically, the primer uses an impact-sensitive material called priming compound which ignites when struck by a firing pin. In other embodiments, a piezoelectric primer cap may be used, or any other structure which can, when struck, work to ignite nearby propellant in the firearms cartridge. Primer caps may be a centerfire cap, rimfire cap, or any other primer used in a firearms cartridge to initiate the firing of a bullet.
The signal referred to in this disclosure may be any signal which can be transmitted over a relatively large area reliably and without disruption of people within the area. This signal is typically along the electromagnetic spectrum and more particularly is a radio-frequency signal. The predetermined signal may be a particular wavelength, amplitude and/or pattern, or ranges thereof, to cause the disabling of the primer/firearm cartridge. In some cases, an acoustic signal may be used, such as a sound frequency and/or pattern which is well above or below human hearing range.
The signal receiver within the firearm cartridge and/or within the primer cap may be any device or material which can be affected by the selected signal for disabling the ammunition. In some embodiments, the signal receiver may be an antenna, while in other embodiments the signal receiver may be a material or a part of the material having a property which responds to or is affected by the presence of the signal such as an electro-active material, or radio-frequency active material.
In some embodiments, energy, such as electrical energy, is required to cause the physical change within the primer cap or cartridge to prevent firing. This energy may be stored or gathered. For example, in a stored energy embodiment, a small battery or supercapacitor may store energy to cause the change when in the presence of the signal. In other embodiments, a small battery, capacitor or supercapacitor may be charged by the movement of the cartridge, storing the kinetic energy from the movement.
In one embodiment, the signal receiver is in communication with a polymer, and the polymer is operable to soften or change shape under application of a current through the polymer. The signal receiver may be programmed to apply a current to the polymer, causing the polymer to soften or change shape when in the presence of the predetermined signal, such that an impact on the rear wall of the primer body does not transfer a force to the priming compound sufficient to ignite the priming compound.
In still further embodiments, the components or materials may receive the energy required for operation from the signal itself and/or from other signals it is exposed to. For example, a microchip which can be powered by radio-frequency and use this energy to operate the activation/deactivation. Or, a material having radio-frequency activated properties such as a polymer containing carbon nanomaterials which can be heated in the presence of the selected radio-frequency signal, among other options. The carbon nanomaterials, when mixed into, for example, a heat-sensitive polymer can cause the polymer to soften or deform enough to be operable to prevent force transfer from a firing pin and in turn, prevent firing of the bullet. Other radio-frequency active materials may also be used.
“Tuning” of the mechanism to allow or limit firing of the ammunition may be achieved based on the selected signal. For example if a particular frequency is selected, the signal receiver, if an antenna, may be configured to identify the particular frequency. If the signal receiver is a material which may have a property change under the signal exposure, the material may be configured with the proper component selection and properties to operate as desired. In one embodiment, this may involve optimizing a quantity of, for example, carbon nanomaterials which are activated by the selected frequency, combined with optimizing surrounding polymer or other material selection to be hard at ambient operating temperatures, but soften or deform, contract, etc when the carbon nanomaterials are “activated” by the signal.
In further embodiments, a similar sound-frequency active material may be used to soften, deform, contract, or the like to prevent ignition of the priming compound by the firearm's firing pin. Such a material may itself be affected by a certain sound frequency, amplitude, pattern or the like. Or, in other embodiments, upon receipt of a sound frequency by the signal receiver, a change in the material may be affected by, for example, a current passing through the material. This current, as noted above, may come from an energy storage device such as a battery or capacitor/supercapacitor, or may be generated by energy gathered from the signal itself, ambient radio waves other than the signal, movement, or the like.
In some embodiments, the primer cap has a spacing, as seen in the figures, in which a material crosses the spacing to allow force from a firing pin to transfer to the priming compound, igniting the priming compound and in turn the propellant (gunpowder) within the cartridge, firing the bullet. This material, often a polymer, is operable to be softened or deformed when in the presence of the radio frequency so that, when struck by the firing pin, the force transferred to the priming compound is minimized or eliminated. For example, the material may soften and then when struck by the firing pin, the material absorbs the energy and does not transfer it to the priming compound. Similarly, in other embodiments, the material may deform, such as by contracting away from the priming compound to create a spacing. When struck by the firing pin, the force does not transfer across the spacing, thus preventing ignition of the priming compound. In still other embodiments, the signal receiver is in communication with an inner wall of the primer cap. The signal receiver is operable to cause a movement of the inner wall which spaces the inner wall, adjacent to the primer material, away from the rear wall. As such, when the rear wall is struck by the firing pin of the firearm, it does not transfer sufficient force to the priming compound to ignite it.
Signal powered components, such as microchips and devices to generate an electrical current across a material or to cause a movement of a component may be used. In one embodiment, signal powered components utilize an antenna to gather the signal energy and a rectifier to convert the alternating current of the electromagnetic or acoustical signal and cover it to direct current. This direct current can then be used to, for example, soften a material, activate a switch, space away one surface from another, and the like to deactivate the primer cap and/or firearm cartridge. Other embodiments of signal powered components involve the antenna receiving the energy from the signal and/or ambient other signals such as nearby cellular or Wi-Fi and other radio signals, and storing it an energy storage element such as a battery, capacitor or supercapacitor until sufficient energy is available to use.
In some embodiments, a phase change material may be used to allow or prevent force transfer from the firing pin on the rear wall of the primer to the priming material and/or propellant. The phase change material may be a solid in an environment where the predetermined signal is not present, and liquefy when the signal is present. Phase change may be affected by any means without straying from the scope of the invention. In one embodiment, an electrical current may pass through the material to cause the phase change. In another embodiment, the signal itself may interact with the material to case the phase change.
In other embodiments, energy for the operation of the deactivation of the firearm may be gathered by the motion of the firearm cartridge as it is carried around. Materials such as graphene and black phosphorus, among others, can be used to extract energy from movement which can then be stored and used. Similar tools called triboelectric nanogenerators may also be used to gather the required energy for operation of the deactivating components.
In another embodiment, the cartridge may be operable to break the chain reaction of firing the bullet after the primer cap and before the propellant (gunpowder) is ignited. In this embodiment, a controllable separation may be positioned between primer cap and propellant. This may allow ignited priming compound to be directed away and vented from the cartridge rather than igniting the propellant. In one embodiment, an actuator may space the primer cap close to the propellant in an active mode, and draw it away and block the propellant when in a deactivated mode as initiated by the presence of the predetermined signal. However, this suffers from at least two drawbacks compared to a primer-controlled firearm cartridge. First, once the priming compound is ignited, if the bullet has not been fired, the entire cartridge is unusable and must be discarded. This is sometimes, though not always, the case with a controlled primer cap. Second, from a practical perspective it is more complex and difficult to prevent ignition of the propellant once the reactive priming compound has been ignited. It is generally more simple and easier to implement to control activation at the primer cap stage to prevent ignition of the priming compound, rather than after ignition of the priming compound. Still, embodiments of firearm cartridges which break the chain reaction of firing the bullet after the primer cap and before the propellant (gunpowder) is ignited remain contemplated in this disclosure.
In yet another embodiment, a switch may be used to allow firing when the predetermined signal is not present, and prevent firing when the predetermined signal is present. Switch actuation may be achieved via electrical control, by a movement of a signal-sensitive material, and in any other way. The switch is in communication with the signal receiver. In one embodiment, the switch is operable to bridge a rear wall of the body of the primer cap to the priming compound when not in the presence of the predetermined signal, and wherein the switch opens to create a physical separation between the rear wall of the body and the priming compound.
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In one embodiment, a facility having restricted firearm usage is contemplated. The facility defines a facility area or “zone.” The facility has one or more signal transmitters which are configured to emit a signal covering at least part of the facility area and in many embodiments, the signal transmitter(s) are configured to emit a signal covering the entire area or zone of the facility. The signal transmitters are configured to emit a signal which is operable to deactivate a firearm cartridge of this disclosure, preventing its firing. Exemplary firearm cartridges which can be deactivated are disclosed in the above aspects and elsewhere throughout this disclosure. In a further embodiment, the facility may have a quantity of ammunition therein, but this ammunition is not usable due to the broadcasting of the signal. As noted above, the signal may be on the electromagnetic spectrum, including radio frequency, may be an acoustic signal, or any other signal which does not substantially interfere with humans.
While several variations of the present disclosure have been illustrated by way of example in preferred or particular embodiments, it is apparent that further embodiments could be developed within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, or the inventive concept thereof. However, it is to be expressly understood that such modifications and adaptations are within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and are inclusive, but not limited to the following appended claims as set forth.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17891265 | Aug 2022 | US |
| Child | 18394094 | US |
